The present invention relates to virtualization of hardware resources in a network environment and, in particular, to virtualization of set top boxes that deliver digital content streams to a wide variety of computing and media playback devices.
A conventional hardware set top box (STB) receives an encrypted digital content or media stream from a network (e.g., a cable, satellite, or IP-based network), decrypts the stream, decodes it to frames, and then formats those frames for transmission to and presentation on a connected television; typically over some sort of cable connection such as, for example, a standard coaxial cable or, more recently, a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable. Most STBs employ a digital tuner to decode the media stream, although most televisions now include a digital tuner that performs at least some of this functionality. However, other functionalities of the STB have not typically been included in standard televisions due to lack of a single standard. For example, one of the primary reasons STBs were introduced was for the decryption of high-value content, something that could not be handled by the television. Once introduced for this purpose, other functionalities were implemented in the available platform such as, for example, advanced navigation user interfaces, and TV guide applications.
Systems which deliver digital content for display on televisions including, for example, cable, satellite, and IP-based television systems (as well as combinations of these), typically rely on the deployment of STBs with every television, representing an enormous portion of the capital costs associated with such systems.